Fmr LLC Purchases 3,977,845 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Fmr LLC raised its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 38.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,977,845 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 2.32% of Welltower worth $1,847,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Welltower during the second quarter valued at about $254,977,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at about $66,905,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,112,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $220,223,000 after acquiring an additional 417,046 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,914,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $373,126,000 after acquiring an additional 291,839 shares during the period. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,185,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE WELL opened at $138.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.10. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.40 and a 1-year high of $140.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.53 billion, a PE ratio of 91.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 176.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research upgraded Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.50.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people’s wellness and overall health care experience.